Throughout his previous six years at the Etihad Stadium, the versatile Portuguese playmaker had amassed 11 major honours and delivered key goals and assists in Manchester derbies, Premier League showdowns and seismic Champions League clashes.
He continued this phenomenal habit throughout the past 12 months.
Having not started our opening two matches of the season, the 28-year-old would have been champing at the bit to ignite his seventh term in sky blue.
And he did just that when playing the entirety of our exciting 3-3 draw with Newcastle at St James’ Park in what was our third Premier League assignment of the season.
He grabbed an excellent goal and an assist as we battled back from two-goals against Eddie Howe’s Champions League bound side.
This set the tone of a sparkling season both personally and as part of the group.
In total, the skilful forward made 55 appearances in all competitions - the second highest among his colleagues with Rodrigo’s 56 the most.
This also represented the most games he’s played in a single season for the Club.
One of these matches, of course, was our epic 4-0 Champions League semi-final second leg victory over Real Madrid, which secured our passage to the European showpiece.
In what was an electric first-half display by City, Bernardo scored twice and played the entirety of the success which earned him the Player of the Match award – leading Guardiola to sound the salute his midfield maestro.
“[He is] one of the best players I have ever seen in my life” – were the boss’ sparkling words.
A statistical dive into his 2022/23 season certainly shows why the Catalan holds Bernardo in such high regard.
Firstly, his immense versatility was highlighted as he played 23 times a central midfielder, 14 times on the right side of midfield and on occasion at left-back – most impressively in our vital 3-1 win away to Arsenal in February.
Perhaps this is unsurprising when looking at his average distanced travelled in the Premier League which stands at 11.8 kilometres per 90 minutes – the most of any City player last year.
In fact, Bernardo accounted for each of the top three highest distances covered in a single league game by a sky blue player in 2022/23.
Hard work on and off the ball is a key principle to the way Guardiola’s side operates and the Portugal international is massively productive when in possession.
Among the players who played the majority of their matches in central midfield, he led all of the engine room operators in the division for total ball carry distance per 90 minutes in the league (229 metres).
These immense stats translate into the Champions League, too.
Across every player who competed in the 2022/23 competition, the 28-year-old regained possession of the ball in the final third 25 times in the Champions League last season – seven more times than any other player.
Guardiola’s midfield engine en route to the Treble – Bernardo proved to be City’s standards bearer and led by example continually until the shutters fell on our historic term.
Perhaps it’s no surprise Guardiola described him as ‘one of the best players I ever trained in my life’ and ‘a special football player.’
